4 ms·

Elon has just confirmed [1] that they will be attempting to recover the first stage. This is the first flight with the landing leg module attached to the first

by FD3SA 12y ago

Elon has just confirmed [1] that they will be attempting to recover the first stage. This is the first flight with the landing leg module attached to the first stage. The landing legs will be deployed over sea for a soft landing in preparation for a land-based recovery. This will be a historic moment if the recovery succeeds, ushering in a new era of space travel due to the massively reduced operating costs of recoverable engines. 1. https://twitter.com/elonmusk https://twitter.com/elonmusk

joezydeco 12y ago
Is Musk planning to have his drones watch the landing? I'm guessing that's what the "recovery ship" would be doing, although his twitter feed is saying that heavy seas might make that difficult.
- BrandonMarc 12y ago
  That would be awesome. I was astounded the first time I saw one of their McGregor, Texas rocket tests from the point-of-view of a hexacopter flying near the rocket's flightpath. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDkItO-0a4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDkItO-0a4 In this video, the copter is actually HOVERING ABOVE the rocket as the rocket descends back down to the launchpad. The only time I've ever seen something like that before was Hollywood (Apollo 13, and then when the footage was re-used in Austin Powers 2).
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  Quadcopters don't have the endurance to hover in the recovery zone, unless one of the SpaceX recovery ships were to deploy them. Ideally, you'd use something like a Predator or Reaper with long endurance and stabilized optics. At $4MM per drone (new), that's not outside the realm of possibility.
  - SEJeff 12y ago
    You don't buy a single predator, you buy a set of them, along with all of the support gear including the ground control station, and support from the manufacturer. - former shadow 200 military drone pilot
    - toomuchtodo 12y ago
      Can you rent time from a non-military agency? I know NASA has at least one Global Hawk.
      - toomuchtodo 12y ago
        Addition/Edit: They own at least two: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/aircraft/GlobalHawk/index.html http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/aircraft/GlobalHawk/in...
      - SEJeff 12y ago
        Highly unlikely, the big UAVs tend to contain top secret avionics and we don't always want the world to know the capabilities of their payloads. It might be possible, but it would be a lot easier to call IAI or Northrop and ask if they would rent it to you.
FD3SA 12y ago
Update from Elon [1]: "Last known state for rocket boost stage is 360 m/s, Mach 1.1, 8.5 km altitude and roll rate close to zero (v important!)" So it appears it may be a failure, we'll find out soon what went wrong this time. More from Elon regarding what success would be, telemetry wise: "Rocket boost stage reaching 0 m/s in one piece :) Will know soon. Odds not high." [1] Regardless, they've demonstrated that the landing-leg module can survive the stresses of liftoff and fully powered flight, particularly at Max Q. This is quite an achievement, and vital for future tests. 1. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/with_replies https://twitter.com/elonmusk/with_replies
- mikeyouse 12y ago
  I think you're reading more into his comment than he intended. The first tweet, Last known state for rocket boost stage is 360 m/s, Mach 1.1, 8.5 km altitude and roll rate close to zero (v important!) Was a very upbeat message in the context of their previous attempts. This rocket was only doing 360 m/s, but importantly, wasn't rolling at all -- Their last 'test' failed when the rocket started rolling at a very high rate of speed and they lost engine power. Musk was then asked: if anything could go better, what would it be? To which he replied: Rocket boost stage reaching 0 m/s in one piece :) Will know soon. Odds not high. The first line is just a joke that the test would go better if the rocket got to the surface in 1 piece. I think his 'odds not high' statement is just to dampen excitement a bit, since they went into this with a ~40% chance of success for the landing stage.
  - JohnnyBrown 12y ago
    I believe the 0 m/s refers to the boost stage's speed after a successful landing.
    - nardi 12y ago
      Since this is over the ocean, I interpreted this to mean reaching a state of stable hover.
      - 12y ago

by FD3SA 12y ago

joezydeco 12y ago

Is Musk planning to have his drones watch the landing? I'm guessing that's what the "recovery ship" would be doing, although his twitter feed is saying that heavy seas might make that difficult.

BrandonMarc 12y ago
That would be awesome. I was astounded the first time I saw one of their McGregor, Texas rocket tests from the point-of-view of a hexacopter flying near the rocket's flightpath. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDkItO-0a4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDkItO-0a4 In this video, the copter is actually HOVERING ABOVE the rocket as the rocket descends back down to the launchpad. The only time I've ever seen something like that before was Hollywood (Apollo 13, and then when the footage was re-used in Austin Powers 2).
toomuchtodo 12y ago
Quadcopters don't have the endurance to hover in the recovery zone, unless one of the SpaceX recovery ships were to deploy them. Ideally, you'd use something like a Predator or Reaper with long endurance and stabilized optics. At $4MM per drone (new), that's not outside the realm of possibility.
- SEJeff 12y ago
  You don't buy a single predator, you buy a set of them, along with all of the support gear including the ground control station, and support from the manufacturer. - former shadow 200 military drone pilot
  - toomuchtodo 12y ago
    Can you rent time from a non-military agency? I know NASA has at least one Global Hawk.
    - toomuchtodo 12y ago
      Addition/Edit: They own at least two: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/aircraft/GlobalHawk/index.html http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/aircraft/GlobalHawk/in...
    - SEJeff 12y ago
      Highly unlikely, the big UAVs tend to contain top secret avionics and we don't always want the world to know the capabilities of their payloads. It might be possible, but it would be a lot easier to call IAI or Northrop and ask if they would rent it to you.

FD3SA 12y ago

Update from Elon [1]: "Last known state for rocket boost stage is 360 m/s, Mach 1.1, 8.5 km altitude and roll rate close to zero (v important!)" So it appears it may be a failure, we'll find out soon what went wrong this time. More from Elon regarding what success would be, telemetry wise: "Rocket boost stage reaching 0 m/s in one piece :) Will know soon. Odds not high." [1] Regardless, they've demonstrated that the landing-leg module can survive the stresses of liftoff and fully powered flight, particularly at Max Q. This is quite an achievement, and vital for future tests. 1. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/with_replies https://twitter.com/elonmusk/with_replies

mikeyouse 12y ago
I think you're reading more into his comment than he intended. The first tweet, Last known state for rocket boost stage is 360 m/s, Mach 1.1, 8.5 km altitude and roll rate close to zero (v important!) Was a very upbeat message in the context of their previous attempts. This rocket was only doing 360 m/s, but importantly, wasn't rolling at all -- Their last 'test' failed when the rocket started rolling at a very high rate of speed and they lost engine power. Musk was then asked: if anything could go better, what would it be? To which he replied: Rocket boost stage reaching 0 m/s in one piece :) Will know soon. Odds not high. The first line is just a joke that the test would go better if the rocket got to the surface in 1 piece. I think his 'odds not high' statement is just to dampen excitement a bit, since they went into this with a ~40% chance of success for the landing stage.
- JohnnyBrown 12y ago
  I believe the 0 m/s refers to the boost stage's speed after a successful landing.
  - nardi 12y ago
    Since this is over the ocean, I interpreted this to mean reaching a state of stable hover.
    - 12y ago